- A high-security prison planned on El Frontón Island, off the coast of Lima, Peru, would interfere with the movement of threatened marine species, experts say.
- The project is part of a larger government plan to address overcrowding and organized crime in the country’s prison system.
- The planned island prison will cover 5.7 hectares out of El Frontón’s total area of 100 hectares (14 out of 250 acres) and house approximately 2,000 inmates.
- Conservationists have called for a formal environmental impact assessment for the project, citing multiple threatened species in the greater Humboldt Current ecosystem where the island sits.
The Peruvian government is planning to expand the country’s prison system to address overcrowding and organized crime. But one of the facilities it wants to build poses serious risks to marine habitats in the Pacific Ocean, critics say.
The construction of a high-security prison on El Frontón Island, off the coast of Lima, would interfere with threatened marine species that travel between numerous islands in the area, experts warn. They say the project should undergo an environmental impact assessment before moving forward.
“These ecosystems are refuges for life in the middle of the sea, functioning as resting and breeding areas for wildlife such as birds and marine mammals, species that know no spatial boundaries and move between the islands and islets,” Cristel Cordero, marine conservation specialist for the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law, said in a local op-ed about the facility.
El Frontón Island spans just 100 hectares (about 250 acres) and can be reached by boat from Lima in around 30 minutes. It’s part of the greater Humboldt Current ecosystem that stretches from Chile to Ecuador, where air currents push away warm water, allowing cold, nutrient-rich water to rise to the surface.
It’s one of the most productive fishing areas in the world.
Anchovies, tuna and sardines are common throughout the Humboldt Current, as well as Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldt), sea lions (Otaria flavescens) and more than 70 species of sharks, according to The Nature Conservancy.
Conservationists say bird species have suffered a noticeable decline in the area, including the guanay cormorant (Leucocarbo bougainvilliorum), the Peruvian booby (Sula variegata) and the Peruvian pelican (Pelecanus thagus). Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) are also facing an alarming decline and strict fishing regulations.
El Frontón is less than a kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Cavinzas Islands and Palomino Islets, which are part of the Guano Islands, Islets, and Capes System National Reserve. Even though El Frontón isn’t technically part of the reserve, construction there is still a threat to protected areas, critics say.
“The interaction between the marine biodiversity of these ecosystems is not limited by whether or not they’re included in the island reserve,” said Antony Apeño, a marine biologist with CooperAcción, an environmental NGO. “This represents a clear risk, not considered by the new implementation of this proposed prison.”
The facility is part of a $135 million effort by President Dina Boluarte to expand Peru’s prison system, with the goal of limiting overcrowding and improving national security. It would cover 5.7 hectares (14 acres) and house approximately 2,000 “highly dangerous inmates,” the office of the president said in a release.
Boluarte visited the island last month with several top cabinet officials. They said transferring dangerous inmates to El Frontón would help disperse criminal networks that tend to form inside congested prisons on the mainland.
So far, the project has received approximately $174 million in private investment, officials said.
“We are reaffirming our commitment to defeating criminals, gangs and criminal organizations, to restore peace to our more than 33 million citizens,” Boluarte said during the visit. “[I] won’t neglect, for a single minute, the responsible and serious work in response to the country’s needs.”
The feasibility phase of the project was unanimously approved by the National Criminal Policy Council in an emergency session last week, with an estimated completion time of eight to 10 months. The commission is responsible for planning and overseeing the country’s criminal justice policy.
The feasibility phase usually involves evaluating whether a project’s proposed design and construction can be realistically carried out financially, legally and without damaging the environment. Water and electricity solutions have already been addressed, according to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
However, critics say an environmental impact assessment hasn’t been carried out, still leaving the ecosystem open to unexpected changes caused by construction, human waste and increased travel to and from the island.
“Any construction in areas near the sea or on the sea, such as El Frontón island, would affect the ecosystem by impacting the behavior, reproduction and movement of the wildlife that lives here and in the surrounding area,” Cordero wrote in her op-ed.
Banner image: Fishermen silhouetted during sunset outside of Lima, Peru. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
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